THE FOOD OF THE WHITEFISH COREGONUS CLUPEAFORMIS (MITCHILL) IN ONTARIO WATERS, WITH A NOTE ON THE PARASITES

Abstract

A study of the food of whitefish from various localities shows that the whitefish is a bottom feeder, showing little selectivity, accepting the most abundant animal food in the locality. The diet for the first five years in one locality included considerable amounts of plankton. Whitefish eat little on the spawning migration but feed to some extent at least, during the winter.Ninety-five per cent of whitefish examined were parasitized by large numbers of the tape worms Cyathocephalus americanus or Ichthyotaenia laruei. A similar number were parasitized by a species of Echinorhynchus. Nematode parasites were found in fewer specimens and in smaller numbers. Crustacean parasites were comparatively rare.